safety at Calhoun

[ice_kmauve]

Mike M just related to me a story from today. I was not there but I wanted to comment:

A newer kiter was on the Southeast end of Calhoun with a 14m T1. Apparently the kite got away from him and tumbled all the way across the road where it stopped at the cemetery fence.

We need to make sure this doesn't happen again. A loose kite on that road by Calhoun could cause a car accident, meaning, death to an innocent person potentially.

I personally almost put my peter lynn kite onto Lake Calhoun Pkwy a couple of years back, while learning. I failed to close the carabiner fully, and she blew away, wrapping around the last tree before the road.

If your kite causes a car accident, you will be held liable and the consequences could be really severe, not to even mention the guilt of knowing you caused the death or injury of an innocent person.

Please! If you are trying out kiting for the first few times:

1. check in with other kiters. Maybe ask them to look at your leash, your rig, etc. to see that you are safe, and that your kite won't get away from you.

2. GO UPWIND. Go out to the middle of the lake, or even start on the upwind side of the lake and do a down winder. Put distance between yourself and the pedestrians, cars, etc that are next to shore.

3. I can't believe I'm saying this, but for god's sake, take a lesson. I did not take lessons as I learned kiting. But just as you would not want to emulate other aspects of my persona (especially my kiting attire), you don't want to follow after me in this either. The solitary path was the one I wanted to take, but it cost me plenty as well, and despite my best precautions, I let my kite get away from me a few times. Don't repeat this costly process, unless you are willing to stay far away from innocent bystanders.

4. USE A LEASH!! It's not optional!!!

5. Again: GO UPWIND BEFORE YOU LAUNCH!!!!!

6. Learn to fly the kite first, meaning : Launch, steer, power, depower, land, before you put on your skis/snowboard to try to ride with the kite. Seriously, if you can't properly control a kite in the first place, how can you possibly think you can use that kite to propel you on a snowboard or skis???

[Dave Z]

And another note.....flying your trainer is great as far as steering a kite and learning the concept of it all but don't be lulled into thinking it's easy to jump to that 12+ Meter power kite. It's like going from a bicycle to a 750cc motorcycle!!!! Fun all the same but it truly is a different beast.....especially when the shinto hits the fan.

[cautionkid]

This same thing happened to me last year on Calhoun. After just moving back from down south I thought that pilling snow on my kite would hold it down so I could run my lines. I was mistaken as gusty as Calhoun is a big gust came and my kite started flipping over and over again towards the cemetery. Then the race was on in snowboard boots I was in a full sprint trying to catch the kite luckly the wind back off and The kite stopped and I caught up to it before it hit the bike path or road. I know I looked like a complete dumbass as the city bus passed by but luckly I didn't cause any harm to anyone or my kite. Just thought I would share my only Calhoun kiting session. After that it actually turned out to be a pretty fun session.

[JRN]

THANK GOD NOTHING HAPPENED! Very good advice indeed, Daves. We ALL need to be more aware of potential problems, & conciously work to keep these mishaps to a minimum. I have had a number of near misses in my years of kiting, but hope that lessons have been learned. Let's be SAFE, be CAREFUL, be CAUTIOUS, & be on the lookout for dangers that may or may not be about to occur. Maybe "NEWBIES" should consider going to venues where there is literally "MORE ROOM FOR ERROR!"

[Dave Z]

Right on Jim.....I'll never forget seeing this dude watch his Peter Lynn get away from him. I've never seen ANYONE run so fast in ski boots and then do a full on Super Man dive to catch the kite....Oh wait, that was you Jim!!!! Sorry, couldn't resist.

[scottman]

I'll add one more thing, just my two cents...it's one thing to have the leash on and know how to use it, it's a whole different ballgame when you activate your chicken loop release. Kites will do everything they are not supposed to do at the wrong times, so as Dave and Jim say, get out in the middle of the lake, fly the kite and activate you ejection system with the leash attached and try and land that baby, it's not as easy it it sounds some times. If you don't know the correct way to land a kite that you just pulled the safety on ask someone who has been kiting for a bit and ask if they could go through the motions with you and show you how it's done. The last thing you want to do is eject and then more hell breaks loose because now you have a kite that is truly out of control. I would help anyone while I'm out kiting to stop and walk you through it.

[Dean Rizer]

I've helped several new kiters on Calhoun this year, winter kiting is becoming very popular,especially on Calhoun. More than once the question about kiting on Calhoun in the summer has come up. Answer is always the same, too small, poor launches, too many lake users, too many pedestrians, same applies in the winter unless one rigs away from shore. Probably the new kiter isn't even aware of LAKAWA. I think we need to offer help/ suggestions when it is obvious help is needed. Bring along an extra trash bag or two fill them with snow and leave them for the day. I've found suggestions have been welcome and once the dialog starts more questions are asked. I think we all need to help make this sport safe. I used to hand out Jeff Adamski's cards, Jeff are you still teaching on Calhoun? Tighe?

[Reds]

with power comes responsibility. know and practice your safety proceedures. Always carry a sand bag to pin that kite down when your not tending too it

[Dudes]

Thanks for starting this post (Doctor Love?) I'm the guy that lost his kite after releasing my chicken loop only to see that my leash immediately snapped......and was way too close to the road for my skill level.

A big shout out to seamonkey Mike for your help. Shortly after getting out on the ice, this guy walks over and asked if he could help me launch. Absolutely! After chatting a bit, I let him know my experience and he immediately stepped in to give me a hand and answer a few questions, let alone hang out with me the entire time I was out AND retrieve the kite. Mike, you went above and beyond for me, and I tip my hat to you.

Being new to the kiting community, I have been very impressed from what I've seen on this forum. (Yep, I'm very happy to be aware of LAWAKA ). Mike proved that it's not just on the forum where people help each other out. Thank you and I'm looking forward to seeing you out on Calhoun soon.

There's no doubt in my mind that this sport requires more safety awareness than probably any I've experienced. It's not just us newbies that have to be extremely aware as I learned from the story shared about the X-mas day death spiral. Hearing that really made me realize you can never be too aware and prepared.

At first, seeing this post and knowing it was about me made me feel pretty embarrassed (in a fairly negative way). Very quickly though, I realized I should be embarrassed as it's one of the best ways to learn. This was a hard lesson to learn which I won't forget. Regardless of why it happened, the responsibility is mine. Period.

So, here's to everyone one of you who took time to share your thoughts. It is very appreciated.

And by the way, as far as I can tell, the conditions were sweet out there today!
Noah Wolf

[ice_kmauve]

No shame intended man. Like I said I have been the cause of some kitemares myself. Glad you're getting out and enjoying the sport. Let's keep Calhoun and all of our other lakes safe so we don't get booted off 'em!

Peace.

[Dudes]

Thanks Doc. No shame felt or taken!

[steveb]

Accidents happen, that's why kites have safeties. We learn from them and we try to avoid the same scenario again.
We have to watch over each other which is why it's important to keep an eye out for everyone, even the people you don't know. We are always one session away from being the person who needs help, I don't care how experienced you are.
We all know that the majority of really bad accidents happen to experienced kiters not beginners. The old familiarity breeds contempt addage.
I have to force myself to make sure I check and double check everything, often the wish to start the session and the distractions of watching others ride can make me want to rush. But...I really try to go through my check list every time. Make sure you have a safety routine and check list that works for you...try to make it a little like a dogma that you go through every time you set up.
All power to you ,Noah for your attitude and open mindedness, it'll save your ass in the long run.
Have fun and be safe, I should add warm. What a freezin winter this one is.

[Iceman]

This newbie has something to say about safety I flew my trainers for a year before I purchased a 9M T2. I have 3 trainers and in the right winds even those can be dangerous and get away from you. Please everybody who is starting out in this sport put safety first. I have flown my 9M 3 times now just landing it and launching it. I have used the safeties just so I know what they do. Just about the time your feeling like you’re the king of the hill mother nature will bitch slap you silly. Do I want to jump into my skis and go? That would be a YES am I ready no!


Iceman